"Sampath Speaking" - the thoughts of an Insurer from Thiruvallikkeni: Cyclone Ditwah

Monday, December 1, 2025

Cyclone Ditwah - some interesting details !!!

A wet morning in Chennai – it is raining, raining albeit not heavily … .. everywhere Chennaites are saying ‘Ditwah’ !

The name "Ditwah" means "lagoon" and was suggested by Yemen as part of the cyclone naming convention. The name specifically refers to the Detwah Lagoon on Socotra Island, Yemen, known for its unique and distinct coastal ecosystem.

To some who say that it is weak just like Fengal .. .. No. Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on 28 Nov 2025 before moving back over the Bay of Bengal, triggering some of the most severe flooding Sri Lanka has seen since the early 2000s. Going by the media reports, it caused devastation in Sri Lanka killing more than 300 and a similar no is stated missing. A large number of fatalities were reported from Badulla, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Matale districts, home to some of Sri Lanka’s most economically marginalised communities. Visuals from the affected areas showed colonial-era line rooms housing Malaiyaha Tamils — descendants of labourers that the British brought down from south India to work in plantations two centuries ago — collapsing and being buried under soil, as the hillsides above them gave way.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for several coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall on Monday, December 1, as a low-pressure system over the southwest Bay of Bengal intensifies. The Tamil Nadu government has declared a holiday for all educational institutions in a preemptive move to ensure public safety after Cyclone Ditwah triggered intense rainfall and severe waterlogging.

The IMD report reads : the Deep Depression (Remnant of Cyclonic Storm Ditwah) over southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts moved northwards with the speed of 10 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centered at 2330 hrs IST of yesterday, the 30th November 2025 over the same region, near latitude 12.3°N and longitude 80.6°E, about 90 km south-southeast of Chennai (India), 90 km east-southeast of Puducherry (India), 110 km east-northeast of Cuddalore (India), 180 km north-northeast of Karaikal (India). The minimum distance of the centre of the deep depression from north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts is about 50 km. It is very likely to move nearly northwards parallel to North Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts and weaken gradually further into a depression by noon of today, the 01st December. The system will be centered over southwest Bay of Bengal within a minimum distance of 30 km by morning of today, the 01st December 2025.